Czech expert says U.S. involvement marks breakthrough in Ukraine’s security guarantees

This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Czech political expert Pavel Havlíček from the Association for International Affairs.

“What I consider meaningful is the U.S. involvement in this, as the first point of the Declaration basically says that the U.S. will be sort of observing this and it will be directly involved in the monitoring and analysis of the security situation,” the expert said.

He also emphasized the importance of commitments to take action in response to potential violations of the ceasefire.

“I think it is a quite strong commitment, and it is clearly stating that the U.S. will be involved in this,” Havlíček stressed.

At the same time, the expert noted the general recognition among Coalition partners that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will constitute the so-called first pillar of security guarantees, as this concerns the state’s self-defense against external aggression.

This implies another track of support, namely for Ukraine’s defense and military-industrial complex. “There is this wide recognition that Ukraine will keep receiving the military support, it will stand for its own security, and there will be this first line of defense,” the expert said.

Regarding the multinational forces planned for deployment in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, he believes there are still many discussions to be held at the national level.

“It was stated before that the deployment of European forces should be basically sanctioned by national parliaments, there should be the internal process – something von der Leyen spoke about – and there should be domestic debate about this. But of course, it’s very important that there was discussion about which countries would contribute to it,” Havlíček noted.

He recalled that, for instance, the Czech Republic rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, but at least senior officials have made statements about continuing initiatives to supply ammunition, which is an important decision it terms of support to Ukraine.

As reported by Ukrinform, following the Paris summit, the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, Ukraine, and the United States signed a statement titled “Robust Security Guarantees for a Solid and Lasting Peace in Ukraine.”

Photo: Kateřina Cibulka, Český rozhlas